Geology from a Motor Car 375 



of 28 miles, to Santa Barbara. For a distance of 11 miles, from 

 Ventura to Punta Gorda station, the formation exposed in the 

 steep cliffs is mainly of upper Pliocene age (Pico formation) . It 

 is a part of the south flank of the Ventura anticline, the crest 

 of which finally passes into the ocean at Seacliif. The Rincon 

 oil field is located on this fold and is partly on shore and partly 

 in the sea. In 1930, after a geological survey of the outcrops on 

 the floor of the ocean, a long pier was built and wells drilled 

 under the water. The depth of the water here is not more than 

 about 35 feet. 



Unless fog interferes it is usually possible to see Santa Cruz 

 Island from the Ventura County coast, and to the south the 

 smaller Anacapa Island, which belong to the group of Channel 

 Islands. They are structurally a part of the Santa Monica 

 Mountains and form the south side of the Ventura basin. The 

 rocks of these islands are mainly sedimentary, though on Santa 

 Cruz Island both schist and granite are exposed. 



After crossing the bridge over Rincon Creek the road leads 

 up a deep cut to the Carpinteria terrace or mesa. From Car- 

 pinteria terrace, on the west side of Rincon Creek, to Santa 

 Barbara and northwestward to Point Concepcion, the high Santa 

 Ynez Mountains rise abruptly from the terrace and low foot- 

 hills. A prominent line of foothills extends westward from 

 Rincon Creek, back of which lies one of the large faults of this 

 district, the Arroyo Parido fault. It continues beyond Sum- 

 merland through Montecito and Santa Barbara. From Sum- 

 merland to Santa Barbara the road passes over the low sea 

 terrace cut into the Pleistocene gravel deposits, some of which 

 are tilted, as shown in the cut near the Montecito Inn. 



Santa Barbara and Marine Terraces 



The city of Santa Barbara is situated in a "graben" between 

 the Arroyo Parido fault on the north and a fault along the 

 north side of the hills on the southwest. This graben extends 

 northwestward to Goleta, and is a major structural feature of 



